Everything is Permitted, Even Time Travel
by Rickhunter1997
Summary: When Michael was attacked by a group of Templars, they found information leading to the location of a Piece of Eden. Now under the advice of his best friend, he goes to procure it from Abstergo. Leave a Review if you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**I really have nothing to say, except a Self-insertish story is brewing in my mind.**

Michael stood outside of his house waiting for his mechanic to return the motorcycle he had in the shop due to crashing it a week earlier. Though that was only half the truth. Michael had been attacked by a group of Templars while on the highway, and one thing led to another and he had to bail. Luckily there was a river under the bridge; unluckily for the Templars, cars and trains don't mix. He shook his head, and took a deep breath.

Michael's phone went off, and he answered it, "Nothing is True."

"Everything is permitted," his best friend, Kyon Salgrins, replied from the other side of the line.

"What's up?" Michael leaned back on a fence post, and looked to the sky.

"I was just studying this funky code that we swiped off the Templar's from last week's incident, and I think I found another piece of Eden."

"Two in a year is pushing our luck Ky," Michael saw his motorcycle on the horizon, and switched to his earpiece. "What makes you so sure?"

"Remember how the last piece was inert?" Michael waited for Kyon to finish his explanation, "Well, as soon as I introduced this signal to it, its signal shot through the roof. We might have a pair."

"I'm on my way. Where are the coordinates?"

"Take your best guess."

"In some Abstergo Entertainment building's basement?" Michael paid his mechanic, and revved his bike.

"Close, it's in the attic."

"All right, send the coordinates to my phone." Michael hooked his phone to the bluetooth inside of his motorcycle, and the address appeared on the small screen just below the speedometer. Throwing the black hood over his head, Michael revved the cycle one more time before burning rubber.

It didn't take long for Michael to reach the Abstergo Entertainment building, but he did take his time approaching. The Templars obviously knew who he was, especially since they sent a squad to kill him on the road, or that was just coincidence. Either way, they knew he was an assassin.

Michael parked his motorcycle in an empty alley, and threw a black sheet over the bike. He started walking in the direction of Abstergo Entertainment. He stood behind a pillar, and used his phone to track the cameras. After three minutes, he found a thirty-second window for him to use. He put his phone away, and started tapping his hand against his thigh. When the next window of opportunity arose, he walked out from cover, and took his hood off. He walked moderately fast, nothing that would draw attention to him. He reached the front desk, and angled his face away from the camera to his left.

"How may I help you?" The receptionist asked, without looking up from the terminal. She blew a bubble of gum, and popped it.

Michael smiled internally as he ran a hand through his jet black hair, "I'm sorry, but could you point me to the nearest restroom?"

"Turn around, and down the hallway. First door to your left."

"Thanks." Michael quickly turned, and ran across the floor. He got into the bathroom, and looked at the ceiling. There was a single vent, and it looked like a tight fit.

"Sure you can fit through there?" Kyon asked through the earpiece, surprising the assassin a little.

After he regained his composure he chuckled, "I can fit into holes tighter than this."

"You aren't going to fuck the vent, you are going through it."

"It was a joke, of course I can fit." Michael ran at the wall, and ejected from it, grabbing onto the vent hatch, and using gravity to pull it down. He landed in a roll to decrease sound. He tied one end of a rope around the hatch, and then the other around his wrist.

He repeated the wall eject, and grabbed onto the inside of the vent. He shimmied his way in, and pulled the hatch up with him. He made sure that it would stay in place before he began his crawl through the Abstergo building.

Michael was sweating by the time he made it to the top floor, but this was due to the heaters having been activated on one of the floors. "Hypothermia on one floor, dehydration on the next." Kyon joked, the vents made the connection finicky, and his voice was laced with static.

Michael let out a very heavy sigh as he looked into the office below him, it was the only one on the floor. By default the piece of Eden had to be here. He heard someone walk into the office. "How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know where the other half is, that assassin from last week's failed attack was supposed to provide us with the information... All right, I'll try and figure out where he- yes, I know that time is off the essence." The woman hung up the phone and sighed. She opened a drawer in her desk, and pulled out a glowing object. "What secrets do you hold?"

Michael knew it was a piece of Eden, and quietly removed the vent hatch. He placed it on the inside of the vent, and jumped down. He lunged over the couch, and activated his hidden blade as the woman turned around. He laid her across the desk, and grabbed the piece before it fell from her hands. He examined it, "It looks like a clock."

"So, is that what I died for? A clock of Eden? To think, you would come to me."

After listening to her voice without the vent disturbing his hearing. He recognized the woman's voice, even if her face was new to him. "Shit, mom?"

"Never thought I'd turn Templar, did you?" she chuckled as she groaned. "At least, it was you who killed me, and not a random assassin. I trained you well."

Michael closed his eyes, "I thought you were dead."

"I was... to the assassins, at least. I saw what their control meant, and I saw a world where you were safe." The light in her eyes faded away.

Michael closed her eyes, and prayed for his truly dead mother. "Rest in peace, and may we meet again in our next lives." He let silent tears fall down his cheek.

"I know that this is an emotional moment for you," Kyon announced, "but the readings from that _clock_ in your hands, are going off the charts."

"What the hell does that mean?" Michael asked, looking at the device. He couldn't bring himself to let go or drop the damn thing, and its glow was getting brighter and brighter...

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><p><strong>February, 1715 Cape Bonavista.<strong>

Michael woke up on the beach of some tropical island, "How the fuck did I get from Los Angeles, to here?" He checked his phone. There was no signal whatsoever. He turned his phone off to save the battery, in case he needed a glorified flashlight. He looked out across the horizon, and saw a storm coming, "Well, I'd better find some shelter." He turned and started walking inland.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long for me to get this out, I was focusing on my AC/ME crossover. Anyway without further adieu, here is the next chapter of 'Everything is Permitted, Even Time Travel.'**

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><p>Michael's survival training was really handy in this day and age. Over the past week, he had discovered that he was no longer in his time period, if the passing boats were anything to say about it. Each of them was a type that was no longer used outside of recreational events. With this information in mind, he decided it would not be best to leave this location for the time being.<p>

Michael was able to keep track of the time with the stars, they also told him which month it was, and day. Every night he would lay down and watch them. Something he never did in his own time period. Though he didn't get much sleep. The bright rays, of the Caribbean sun, being blocked by the storm clouds brought him out of his thoughts.

He looked at the Clock of Eden, as he called it, it was very strange, and the fact that he had even known it was a clock was surprising. The more he looked at it, the more he knew what the different glyphs meant.

The clock was counting down to something. What, he didn't know. He took a deep breath, the stench of used gunpowder had reached his nostrils. He dismissed it at first, then shot up. Gunpowder meant guns, and guns meant people. He jumped up from the bed made from his torn coat, and ran towards the coast.

There was a ship battle taking place not far off the coast of the island he was on. He strained his eyes to make out any details. The one thing that caught his eye was a hooded man standing on one of the ships. He noticed the ship he was on was a Spanish schooner, and wondered what an assassin was doing on a Spanish vessel.

The storm came quickly, and lightning struck from the sky. It was clear that the pirates outmatched the Spanish; but what they lacked in guns, they made up in numbers. Michael saw the last of the Spanish ships sunk, but the pirates were dead in the water. Through the excitement, he didn't notice the assassin got onto the Pirate ship until he had killed the captain. Soon after an explosion ensued, most likely killing everyone on the deck. The pirate's ship sunk, and with it the assassin. Michael had been sure it was an assassin due to his use of the hidden blades his order favored so much.

Michael sat down on the beach as the storm made its exit. It had left as fast as it came, and that was something he didn't expect. He stood up after a few seconds and started walking back into the forest. When he got out of sight, he heard someone climb out of the water. He stopped and hid inside of the brush. He saw a blond haired man crawl onto the beach and picked up an empty bottle of rum. To Michael's surprise the man was soon followed by the assassin.

The two men exchanged words, and Michael learned the assassin's name was Duncan Walpole. The blond man, who he still hadn't heard a name from, circled around Duncan. He moved as if to check his pouches. The assassin pulled out a gun, and the pirate backed away. Duncan stood up, and the man moved towards the forest and Michael's supplies.

Without hesitation Michael ran towards the assassin, his hidden blade on his bare wrist. When Duncan looked back, he saw Michael and his face filled with horror. "Assassin! How did you find me?!" he shouted as he continued running.

Michael thought it odd that Duncan would be afraid of him, a fellow assassin by identification of his hidden blades. "I've been stranded here for a week!" he shouted back, his face filled with suspicion as he increased his speed. He heard another set of footsteps behind him, and knew the blond man was following.

He saw the Assassin was near his camp, and threw a knife into his ankle. Duncan fell to the ground, and held his ankle. Michael came up on him, "Go ahead assassin, kill me!" the man backed away, and tried to reload his gun.

"You look like you've seen hell, mate," the blond man said as he joined the two, and kicked the gun from his hands. "Edward Kenway," he introduced to Michael.

"Michael Arias," he replied, then looked at Duncan, "Now, tell me Duncan, you are an assassin, no?" He tried to adopt the speech pattern of the Welshman next to Duncan, knowing it was most likely a popular for of speech in this day and age.

"I am not an assassin, your order is weak, and cowardly. Hiding in the dark." Duncan spit at Michael.

Michael played it cool, and wiped the spit from his face. "I am a patient man Duncan," he said, his cold anger overriding his pseudo accent. "But even I have my limits." He then took into account Duncan's words, "You are a Templar."

"Took you long enough." Duncan said, "What now? You going to bore me to death?"

"No, you deserve a fast death for your treachery." Michael extended his hidden blades, and jabbed it into Duncan's neck. "May the land you find, be filled with the land you seek." He stood up and walked away from the Templar's corpse.

He heard Edward behind him, digging through the pockets of Duncan's corpse, but paid no attention until Edward started speaking to him. "What was all that about?"

"Nothing you should be curious about," Michael responded. He turned around, and saw that Edward was donning Duncan's hood.

"You called each other assassins, I suppose this has something to do with the blades?" he threw Duncan's ruined blades away, then motioned towards the ones on Michael's wrist.

"Something like that," Michael examined Edward, "Those don't fit you."

"They'll do better than the rags you are wearing." After a second examination, Edward raised his brow, "that is some strange clothing.

Michael looked down at his clothes. They had been torn to provide other materials that he would need, and all he had were torn cargo jeans, and a wight tank-top. He then realized that the type of clothing wasn't in existence yet. "It looked better before I got here." He said, playing off the comment about his clothes.

He looked into the trees, and noticed the sails of a small ship behind the trees, "Looks like a schooner is on the other side of the island."

"Then we are in luck, it looks like we are getting off this island." Edward replied, running along the river.

Michael thought it would appear strange if he didn't want to get off, and was about to follow. Before he left camp, he put the Clock into a makeshift bag he made from his shirt. He slung it over his shoulder, and ran after Edward. The two of them made it to the ship, and there was a group of Spanish soldiers terrorizing the merchants of the ship. Michael saw Edward dive into a bale of palm leaves, and pop out. He was hidden inside of the bushes, and stalked the patrols.

For someone that didn't know of the assassins, he sure did know how to move like one. This thought was pushed to the back of Michael's mind, then he followed Edward.

The two of them together took care of the patrols in relatively little time, only a few minutes. Even though it wasn't as long as most people would take, it was long enough for the three men guarding the last merchant to notice their missing comrades. Edward jumped out of the bush on the other side of the men. Michael extended his hidden blades, and ran at the distracted soldiers. He stabbed the closest one in the back of the neck, while Edward impaled the other two with his duel-wielded sabers. "You are pretty good at stealth," Michael commented as he dropped the corpse.

"When you get into as much trouble as I, you need to learn to hide." Edward replied, putting his swords back into their sheaths. He then looked at the merchant, who was, miraculously, still alive. Michael walked away, and let Edward do the talking, after a few moments. He heard the two go into the water. He looked back and raised his brow. He sighed, and started after them. After a few meters he came to the schooner, and climbed up.

Edward nodded at him, and took the wheel, "Where are we going?" Michael asked, leaning on the railing. He noticed that the merchant was on the opposite side of Edward.

"Havana," the man told me, "I am Stede Bonnet, by the way. Thank you for saving me."

"Michael Arias." I let the natural roll of my 'R' in my last name take over, letting my name appear to have an Italian accent.

"You need to make up your mind about your voice, mate." Edward said as he maneuvered the ship with precision and care. "You sounded Welch when I met you, now you sound like a damned Italian."

"My voice depends on my mood," I replied as I looked back at Edward. I turned to face the bow of the ship, and crossed my arms.

"You are a strange man, skilled nonetheless." Edward replied as they came out to open sea. He shouted something at the sailors, and they brought the sails to full. We were lucky to have the wind on our side, and we started towards Havana.


	3. Chapter 3

Michael stood at the starboard side of Bonnet's ship, and watched as Edward deftly pulled the schooner into the harbor. Over the past day, Michael had been able to secure clothing more suitable to the time period, and discarded what he had arrived in. He took a deep breath, and waited for the crew to lower the ramp. Michael waited for Bonnet and Edward to walk his way before walking down the ramp.

During his time on the ship, Michael had learned from Bonnet, that Edward was using the alias Duncan Walpole. He thought it was strange that Edward would use the former assassin's name as an alias, and decided it would be best to follow the two for the time being.

Michael was only armed with his hidden blades, and hoped no one was going to try to attack him. Thankfully, due to Michael's assassin training he had what the assassins liked to call Eagle vision. He focused, and activated the talent. In his mind Edward and Bonnet were currently marked, and he would be able to keep track of them. He crossed his arms and waited between two buildings as they stopped at a shop.

Michael knew he would need to get more weapons than just his hidden blades, it was almost a necessity in the time period he was living in. He looked at the crowds and knew what he had to do. He walked into the crowds, and started bumping into people. He was picking their pockets, and to mask his intent he acted as if he were in a drunken stupor.

He was only able to get five or six Reals, as the currency in this time period was currently called, at a time. It wasn't much, and by the time he noticed some of the guards picking up on his motives, he only had just over four hundred Reals. He used fifty of his newly acquired Reals to hire dancers. He told them to distract the guards so that he could get away.

By the time he had gotten back to the store, Michael had forgotten about following Edward and Bonnet, and he cursed himself for losing track of them. He decided that was in the past, and walked up to the stall. He looked at the various weapons they held, but realized he only had enough for a single British cutlass. After he paid the store owner, he wrapped the sheath around his waist, and sheathed the cutlass.

Feeling slightly more capable with a full sword on his waist, Michael resigned himself to wander around the streets, and hope that he would find Edward and/or Bonnet at some point in time.

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><p>After walking for a few minutes, something caught his eye. In a back alley, there was a conspicuously placed Pigeon coop. He remembered something about how the creed used pigeons to offer contracts to each other before telegrams and electronic communication came about. Michael walked to the coop, and used his eagle vision. Sure enough, there was a barely visible assassin symbol on the side of the coop. Michael opened the coop, and grabbed the pigeon that had an insignia on its leg.<p>

Michael read the contract. The target was a Templar business man trying to buy out all of his competitors, and force the prices of all materials bought in Havana higher. Most of the day he was in the market place, trying to get his competitors to sell their shops. Only a handful remained independent of the Templar's control. There was also a no combat bonus.

Michael didn't know what kind of impact this would have on the future, but it didn't matter. Michael needed the money right now. If he somehow caused his existence to end, it would solve his problem either way. Michael read where to meet the assassin master when the contract was complete, and let the pigeon go. It flew off, and Michael started looking for the market place.

Michael found the markets, and decided it would be best if he was able to get a bird's eye view. He looked up, and saw a rifleman's balcony above him. He turned around and ran into a back alley. He ran at the wall, and vaulted off of it. He grabbed a nearby ledge, and started climbing up. He was behind the rifleman when he got to the roof, and decided to take his uniform. He snuck closer and wrapped his arm around the Spaniard's neck.

The man dropped his rifle, and tried to scream for help. Michael kept his arm tightly around the man's neck, keeping him from both breathing, and screaming. After about thirty-seconds, the man fell limp in Michael's grip.

Michael gently lowered him to the ground, and started stripping him of his clothing. After he placed it several feet away, he stabbed the man's neck, killing him in his sleep. Michael removed his sword sheath, and put the uniform on over the clothes he was wearing. Michael put his sheath back on, and added a pistol holster on his left hip. He put the shot he found on the rifleman next to the holster, and put the pistol into it. Once he was done outfitting himself, he grabbed the rifle that was on the ground.

Michael looked over the railing, and stood at attention. From close up, it was clear that he wasn't Spanish, but with the sun behind him and all other guards far away, it wouldn't matter. He activated his eagle vision to find his target.

The templar was standing not too far away from him, and was talking to a stall vendor. He was probably trying to get him to sell, but wasn't having any luck. Michael looked around and saw three guard patrols. Two two-man patrols, and a single four-man patrol.

Michael waited for the four man patrol to pass before aiming the rifle at the target. He knew that it wasn't very accurate, but the templar was close enough that he wouldn't have to worry. He focused on the man, and pulled back the igniter. He would have to run as soon as he fired, and prepared for the sprint. He squeezed the trigger, and heard the explosion of black powder. Before anyone could react, the templar clutched his neck and fell to the ground.

Michael dropped the rifle, and took off across the rooftops. He didn't look back to see if anyone was chasing him, and only heard his footsteps. He only stopped running when he jumped off of a rooftop, and landed in a bale of hay.

Michael panted slightly, but kept his breathing controlled. He had lost his hat at some point during his run, but that was all. He shed the spanish coat, and left it inside of the haystack after he got out. As he walked, he picked the hay out of his hair.

Michael heard shouting, and thought the guards somehow knew that he had killed the templar at the markets, but saw them run towards a bar. Curious, he ran after them, and was surprised to see the bar engulfed in smoke. He saw Edward run out of it, and disappear down an alley. After the smoke cleared, the guards ran through the streets looking for Edward.

Michael was tempted to run after them, but decided against it when he saw Bonnet about to be beaten by two more guards. He took a deep breath as he ran into the bar, and drew his cutlass. Drawing it didn't make any of the cool sounds you would hear in the movies, and it was unnoticed by the two Spaniards. Michael stabbed the first one through the back, and fired his newly acquired pistol at the second. Both men were dead before they could even react, and Michael didn't want to tempt fate by staying any longer than they should. "Come on Bonnet," he ordered as he picked the merchant up, and dragged him away. "Let's get back to your ship."

"The sugar!" Bonnet shouted as he resisted Michael's grip. Michael wouldn't get anywhere with Bonnet cooperating with him, so he let him go. Bonnet grabbed the sugar that was left on the table, and one of the pouches Michael had previously seen on Edward's belt. Michael heard shouting outside the bar, and directed Bonnet to leave through the back door. It wasn't long before the two of them made it back to Bonnet's ship.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, the one review that I will respond to in this chapter, and yes I like responding to reviews in my stories. This is because you guys post your reviews publicly, so I'll answer publicly. Fair's Fair. **

**Anyway, time to respond to Petter, as I will call you. I don't use the pairing things as romance exclusively, only for who I plan to have work together for long periods of time. As you will see from this chapter, and most of the rest that deal with Michael and Edward together. They aren't the best of allies. In fact I would go as far to say that they are bitter opposites.**

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><p>Michael waited for Edward to return to Bonnet's ship after he saved the merchant from the spanish. He remembered about where to meet the master assassin, and was getting impatient. He walked back and forth in front of the schooner. It was a few hours before Edward eventually made his appearance, and Michael was at the end of a short fuse. "What the hell were you doing?" He asked grabbing the pirate by the collar and pushing him into some crates. "What would have happened if I hadn't been there to save Bonnet after you ran off?"<p>

Edward clearly wasn't expecting Michael to act so hostile towards him, and just grabbed his wrists. "That wasn't my fault, they attacked me. Now let me go!"

Michael glared at him, but knew that since it wasn't his fault, there was no reason to stay. "Protect your friends Duncan," Michael let him go, and walked off. He had better things to do, than babysit a wannabe assassin.

Michael brewed silently, until he found the area that the assassin bureau was in. He activated his Eagle vision, and followed the subtle directions the assassins used. Michael eventually found the small field they used as a bureau. It was out in the open, but then again, they probably didn't have to deal with Abstergo breathing down their necks all the time.

There was a young woman standing over a table, she wasn't wearing customary robes like Duncan had before Edward pillaged his body. "Are you the bureau leader?" he asked as he leaned on the wall. Michael pulled his gun out and dropped it to the floor.

"So, you the one who took out the Businessman?"

"I did," Michael showed his left hand, which showed the tattoo of the assassin's insignia on his ring finger.

"You did good, heard that the man was shot by a ghost."

"I just did what i thought was necessary," Michael replied, "I know this isn't the big reason for killing Templars, but there was a reward for his death right?"

"Aye there was mate," the woman says as she unclasp a bag of Reals from her belt, and puts in on the table, "You earned it, and the bonus. 1,500 Reals. Don't get into trouble."

"I don't plan to." Michael grabbed the pouch, and tied it to his belt. He nodded to the fellow assassin, and started leaving.

"If it isn't too much to ask!" she shouted after him, "I've received word of Duncan Walpole entering the city. I'm running short on men, so could you visit the Governor's house and see if the reports are true? If they are, kill the bastard and retrieve what he stole from us."

Michael was about to say that he killed Duncan, when he thought better of it. He quickly realized why Edward had taken Duncan's name as an alias, "It will be my pleasure."

"You seem like you know something."

"Only that I'm going to retrieve what he stole." Michael turned on his heel, and ran back to Bonnet's ship. When he arrived, he found Bonnet sitting with his sugar but no sign of Edward.

"Bonnet where did Duncan go?" Michael asked quickly, running up to him.

"He said he had a meeting with Governor Torres."

"Shite! I'm too late! Where does the Governor live?"

Bonnet quickly gave Michael directions to his house, and off he went. If Michael didn't get to Edward fast enough, he would seal his fate with the Templars. It was during this sprint, that Michael realized that he had dropped his gun back at the bureau. He cursed himself for forgetting something so valuable. He didn't stop though, and saw a nice free running opportunity that arose because of some conveniently stacked crates. He ran up the crates and jumped, Michael grabbed the horizontal pole and swung himself to the balcony. He used his momentum in another jump and grabbed a potted plant. He swung to the other side of the building, and climbed to the roof.

Michael saw a roof patrolman walking away from him, and decided to take a quick detour. He was able to get to the patrol man before he turned around to see who was running. Not caring about finesse at this point, Michael used his hidden blade and sent it through the heart of the patrol man.

Michael quickly searched his body, and came across a knife that was well weighted, and a small pistol. It wouldn't be nearly as strong as the one he had earlier, but it would be enough. He took the shot and ammo pouches the guard had on him, and clasped them to his belt.

After making sure he wasn't seen, Michael continued towards Torres's Manor. There were guards everywhere, and he wouldn't be able to get in by waltzing into the front door. Michael activated his eagle vision, and watched the patrol routes of the guards. After he memorized the basic locations, he began looking for Edward.

He wasn't able to see the Welshman from his current vantage point, and knew he had to get closer. Michael saw at least three riflemen patrolling the rooftops, but assumed there were twice as many. He quickly ran towards the house, and climbed up the wall. Michael could hear gunshots coming from inside, and planned to use it as a cover for himself.

Michael made it to the first guard, and broke his neck. He gently lowered the body to the roof, and crouched behind the apex of the slanted roof. One of the other patrol men saw the body, and came to investigate as Michael had planned. He waited until the man crouched next to his dead comrade, before revealing himself, and stabbing the man's throat with a hidden blade. He looked at the men who were using the time as target practice, and saw Edward.

He took one of the rifles on the ground, and aimed it at the last patrol man. Michael aimed for the last rifleman, and waited for one of the three men to take aim. He fired almost at the same time as Edward, and the man fell off the roof and into a bush. Michael looked around, and smiled. No one realized that he had fired the rifle, and the rooftop was clear in this area.

Michael watched Edward and the other two, who he assumed were Templars. He kept low as to avoid detection from any of the ground patrols. When Edward and the Templars left the target range, the walked over to what looked like a training course.

Michael watched as Edward preformed various assassination techniques with the hidden blades, and was surprised at the natural talent Edward had for being an assassin. It didn't make him feel any better about what he was about to do.

Michael would wait until he knew what Duncan had stolen from the Assassins, and what Edward was about to give to the Templars. After the demonstration was over, the three men walked up the stairs, and towards the house.

Michael followed them, and kept out of sight from the remaining two roof patrols. He took out the knife from earlier, and ran at the first guard. He turned just in time for Michael to put the knife through his throat. Without waiting another second he spun around the man, and took the knife out. He flicked his wrist in a horizontal motion, and the knife hit the last patrol in the back of the neck.

Michael didn't have time to retrieve the knife, and continued after the group. Eventually he was lead to Governor Torres. The man was old, and looked as though he would die in the near future, but he held the air of authority over the rest of the group. Michael saw Edward give Torres a piece of paper, and a glass cube. Deciding he would wait for events to play out, he continued watching them.

Eventually he followed them to a room with two exits to the outside, one for him to enter from, and one to exit through. He planned how he would do so, and prepared to jump down. Michael made sure there were no guards around, and tensed his body. When everyone had their backs turned to him, he jumped off the rooftop. He landed, and used his forward momentum to roll forward. He kept his speed as he started running at the group of men.

Just before he dove to grab the items on the table, the man in a red cape stuck his arm out, and Michael fell backwards. He felt the pouch that held the Clock of Eden come off his belt as he rolled away. There was a gunshot, and the sound of a bullet hitting the ground where Michael was previously.

Michael got to his feet to see all four men draw weapons. Torres a dagger, Edward his cutlass', the man with a scarred face drew a sword. The man in a red cloak reloaded his pistol and aimed at Michael. He didn't want to leave the clock behind, but knew he would have to make an escape. He aimed his gun at the man in a red cloak, and earned Edward and the scarred man drawing their own fire arms. "Three against one," The cloaked man said, "You don't stand a chance." Michael knew in a head on fight, he was swiss cheese so tried to think of what he could do. Michael remembered the smoke bomb that Edward had, and looked at the pouch that was had the highest chance of holding the smoke bombs.

"Only in a fair fight," Michael said as he aimed at Edward's hip, and pulled the trigger. The smoke bombs exploded, and everyone but Michael was caught off guard. Through the smoke, Michael could see the clock glowing through the cloth wrapped around it.

Michael ran past the four men, and dove for the clock. The pouch it was in was no longer around it, and Michael touched it directly. Soon a bright light engulfed all of them.

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><p><strong>And I'll leave it there for now, so for those of you that guess what is about to happen, I'll lay out the clock of Eden's basis. It only works when you least expect it to.<strong>

**So, if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.**

**Arias out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, I know it has been a long ass time since I've updated this story, but it is still alive I promise you. I just had some motivational issues after I deleted this entire chapter a few months ago, and never really got back to it. I'm back now, and probably not going to update this for a while again, so enjoy this chapter.**

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><p>Michael shook his head as he watched the men talk, not really listening to what they were saying. He felt like he had just done this, but chalked it up to his imagination. After he cleared his head, Michael leaped from the roof and turned his momentum forward in a roll. Getting to his feet without slowing down he ran towards the four men.<p>

Michael got the feeling that the mercenary of the group was onto him, and changed his course slightly. Before he reached them, kicked the cloaked man in the back and into the table. The table flipped, sending all of the papers flying, and allowing Michael to draw the pistol from its holster and fire in the general direction of the older man.

He was grabbed from behind by Edward. Michael countered by elbowing him in the stomach, after he reached into Edward's smoke bomb pouch after he felt Edward's grip loosen, and threw down a smoke bomb. Michael dropped to the floor, grabbed a map, then ran towards the railing outside of the room.

There was a gunshot, followed by a sharp pain in Michael's leg. Despite his wounded leg, Michael tried to jump over the railing, resulting in a sharp pain running through his entire leg and him falling to the ground outside of the manor. Michael was in such a deep amount of pain he could barely move, but once he got enough control over his body to get up, he started towards a lift.

Michael swung his blade at the rope, and was shot to the roof. Thinking he'd be safe he took a relaxed breath, only to realize that there were some more nimble guards already after him. Michael wasn't able to get far before they had him surrounded on the rooftops. He held his hands up as if to surrender, then took the map out. He tore it into tiny pieces and smiled, thinking that he was at least able to keep whatever locations that were marked on the map hidden.

One guard came at him to arrest him, only to get his wrist broken, and his blade shoved into his own throat. Michael took the gun from the dead guard's holster, and fired it at the next one. It wasn't long before the next two came at him at once. Michael barely dodged the first one, and stabbed the second one. He then took the nearly dead guard on his blade, and kicked him towards the other. Michael heard gunshots from the manor, and saw that the four men were using him as target practice.

Michael quickly dove off of the roof and into a bale of hay being carted by a horse. Michael took a deep breath, and sighed a sigh of relief as he finally got a rest from his busy day. A hand reached into the hay, and pulled him out. Michael looked up to see Edward's face, then around to see three guards with guns on him. This day was just getting better and better.

Suddenly, Michael felt woozy, and light-headed. It was at this point that he remembered his wounded leg, and chuckled, "Well, it could have been worse," he said to himself before everything went dark.

* * *

><p><strong>Two days later.<strong>

Michael felt himself being dragged on the floor, his feet in chains and his arms shackled. He opened his eyes to see two men in yellow uniforms dragging him onto a ship. He saw the rising sun on the horizon, and knew that time had passed since he had last been conscious. The sensation of being dragged ended when the chains around his ankles were attached to a pole.

His head was still spinning from unconsciousness, but he could tell that they were moving, and that there was someone next to him, "Who're you?" Michael asked as he shook his head, the blurriness starting to fade away.

"You already know me," Edward answered as he stared at Michael, "I'm surprised you are still alive mate. Sorry about the gunshot, had to play my part."

"I hate you," Michael answered as he saw a third man to Edward's right, "What about you?"

"Adewale," he answered with a thick Caribbean accent, "So, when do we escape? There are three of us, and a rusty chain holding this bar."

"I suggest that we break the chains when we are pretty far out at sea," Michael said as he felt the subtle change in the ship's movement, "at least they won't be able to reinforce our enemies from the land. Any of you know where we are going?"

"To our deaths," Edward said in a low voice as a guard came over and gave the three moldy bread.

"That isn't edible..." Michael said after the guard walked away, "It's like I'm under Stalin's rule."

"Who is this Stalin?" Adewale asked as he pushed his bread away, crossing his arms out of defiance, "I had better food when I was a slave."

"Uhm... one of my old captains, real piece of work he was," Michael said after a second to think about it. This was way before Stalin even existed, so the reference would be lost on anyone in this time. Michael would have to remember that most people wouldn't be able to know what he did. Michael could use that to his advantage, at least for big events. Smaller ones he wouldn't be able to predict precisely. Michael leaned back and folded his arms behind his head, "So, what's the plan?"

"While they were dragging me onto this ship, I saw other prisoners being brought aboard the others. There is more than enough to crew a brig, which there is one at the front of the treasured fleet."

Michael thought the name of the fleet sounded familiar, and vaguely remembered a punishment where he had to map out weather patterns of the 1700's, it was a great help that his specific group had been given the animus program, and started mapping out their genetic memories, but that was it. As Michael was thinking, he zoned out what Adewale was saying.

"- When we have control of the brig, and disabled the crews of the other ships, we will sail out as free men."

Michael nodded to the last part, then laid back, "Wake me when you think it is time for us to break out," he told the other two men, keeping his gaze away from the pirate responsible for getting him here in the first place. It wasn't long before Michael fell back asleep, despite just waking up from his unconscious state.

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><p><strong>Hoped you liked it, if you did, follow and leave a review. Also a little self-promotion, if you like this story, check out Assassin 3099, it is a little something I cooked up a while back, and finally completed, that actual storyline will continue if you like it and don't want it to stop.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, this is rare, me having two chapters so close together. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

><p>Michael awoke when he felt the boat rock violently, and shot up, "What's happening?" he asked looking at the other two.<p>

"It would seem that the admiral has navigated us into a hurricane," Adewale answered as he looked outside, "I think it is time for us to make our escape. It would be a shame if we were to die here."

Edward and Michael nodded in agreement, and the three of them grabbed the bar, and pulled it out of the deck, "That was easier than I imagined it would be," Michael thought aloud as they stood up

Edward and Ade ran to the doorway, and looked through. Deciding that they didn't have time, Michael ran through, pulled the guard's sword from its sheath, and stabbed him with it before he could react. He looked back at the other two, and motioned for them to follow. Michael ran into the next room, and stabbed the one of the next guards in the back, while Edward knocked out the other. They did the same thing in the next room, but this time killed both due to Edward having a sword.

The three made it to the ladder leading to the surface, and in front of them was Edward and Michael's equipment that had been taken from them, though the Clock of Eden was not among it. Michael cursed as he took the pistol and the sword he had been using prior to being on the ship.

"Take only what you need," Adewale warned them as he went up the ladder.

As Edward reached for the second hidden blade that was taken from him, Michael grabbed his wrist, "Let the real assassin handle that weapon," he told Edward, grabbing the blade, and putting it on his right wrist. He tilted his head towards the ladder, and followed Edward to the upper deck.

"There are some more prisoners at the edge of this boat, and more ships than I thought," Adewale told us as we surfaced, "I reckon there are two crews worth of prisoners here."

"Then we take two ships," Michael responded as he checked his hidden blade to make sure it worked, "Ade, you and Edward head for that brig you were talking about, I'll find another suitable vessel for us to use. It will be easier getting out in two ships if they try to attack us."

"Good thinking mate," Edward replied as he patted Michael on the back, "We'll see you on the other side of the storm," Edward ran to the railing and used the rope to swing over to the next ship.

"Good luck, and try not to get yourself killed Ade," Michael said as he nodded at the former slave.

"You too," he nodded then followed Edward.

Michael knew that if he tried to take on the crew of the ship he was on, he would be killed fairly fast. He would have to take this slowly, and methodically. He looked below him and saw two guards, bigger than most of the others. He dropped down behind them, and took out his pistol. He walked up behind one, and aimed at the other, once he was sure this would work, he fired. The bullet lodged itself in the brain of the brute, then he took his sword and stabbed the second one. With both of them dead, Michael checked their bodies for anything useful, and found a few more bullets and some gunpowder bags. He quickly refilled his gun, and loaded another bullet. Michael looked around, and saw that there were no more guards in this area. He ran to cover and peaked around seeing two more guards, these ones were looking at the other ships, seemingly doing nothing but hoping they would survive the storm. Michael looked back at the two brutes, and saw the axes that they were carrying. Deciding they would be useful, he ran back and picked one up. It was heavier than he thought it would be, but it wouldn't be hard to swing it. Michael ran at the two guards, and swung the axe in a wide arc, missing the first one's head with the blade, but getting him with the handle. The guard fell over the railing, and the second guard noticed the axe head coming towards him just before it was lodged into his brain. Michael tried to get it out, but it was stuck.

He gave up on the axe, and saw that there were only two more guards on the deck, and ran at them. They were shocked to see him, giving Michael the chance to draw his pistol and fire at the first one. As soon as that guard hit the floor, the second went to draw his sword, but was stabbed before he could. The prisoners that had seen the exchange cheered, and held out their cuffs. Michael took the keys off of the guard he just killed, and unshackled the men, "Can any of you steer a ship?" Michael asked.

"I can," one of them answered, "I once sailed for under the Queen's flag."

"Didn't need a backstory," Michael replied as he looked at the front of the fleet. He saw the brig that Adewale was talking about, then a frigate that was next to it, "See that frigate in the front, take these men, and wait on its hull. When I get the rest of the prisoners, we'll take the ship and sail for freedom."

"Aye captain..." The man said as he waited for Michael to introduce himself.

Michael looked at the man, "Arias," he said, then jumped into the water.

Michael liberated the men from the rest of the ships on his side of the fleet, and made it to the frigate that was next to Edward and Adewale's brig. He climbed up the hull, and looked at the men who were waiting for him to give the word. Michael prepared to throw himself over the railing, and took out his sword, "Alright! Let's take the ship!" Michael threw himself over the railing, and charged into the battle along with his soon to be crew.

The battle didn't last long since the previous crew of the ship was taken by surprise, and any who didn't quickly surrender were swiftly killed. Michael walked to the railing and watched as Edward did the same thing to his ship, "You ready?" he shouted across to him.

"Aye, we are mate!" Edward answered as he took the helm of his ship, "To freedom! Drop the sails!"

"Drop the sails!" Michael echoed as he walked up to where his helmsman was stationed, "Do you think we'll make it?"

"I do sir, there is no better sailor than me," the helmsman spun the wheel and followed the wind out of the storm, the frigate being faster than the brig, it took the lead.

When the ship was sailing, three more Spanish frigates came out of the storm, and attempted to stop them. Michael's helmsman was able to manuever out of their firing range, but not before lightning struck the water in front of them, creating a rouge wave, "Rouge wave!" Michael shouted as he saw it coming.

"I see it, everyone brace yourselves!" He pointed the ship directly at the wave, and it passed under them like nothing had happened, "I'd like to see those Spanish bastards do that!" the man laughed manically as the storm soon began to break.

"That was over faster than I thought it would be," Michael said as he sat on the railing, he looked to the side to see that Edward's ship was also no worse for wear.

"That's the thing about storms, you can never tell when they are going come, or leave, name's Jacob Carver by the way," he said as he looked at me, "So cap'n, where are we heading next.

"Don't know, need to talk to our compatriots before I know that, pull us next to the brig," Michael started walking to the railing, and watched as Edward's ship came closer to them, "So captain Kenway, where are we going next?"

"I reckon we go to Nassau, safest place I can think of right now," Edward answered, as he walked over to his own railing, "I think it would be a good place to drink to our freedom."

"Sounds good," Michael said in agreement. Michael knew where Cuba was, but not where Havana was specifically. He hoped that Jacob would be able to sail them there, "I'll see you there Edward."

Michael walked back over to Jacob and looked at him, "You know where Nassau is?"

"There isn't a pirate in the seven seas that doesn't know where it is, that's our destination?"

"Yes it is, Set a course for Nassau, Jacob," Michael said as he walked down to the deck to examine his crew and the frigate.

One of his crew members, an older one walked over to him, "So cap'n, are you going to name the ship, after all it is bad luck to not have a named ship."

Michael looked at his with a curious look, and chuckled. Michael didn't believe in luck, but right now he was feeling that it might have more to do with his fate than he realized. This caused him to decide to name his ship, "I think we'll call it the Liberty," he answered the man after a few seconds of thought.

"That's a fine name sir, suitable for our type of company," the man went back to where he was, tending to the cannons, and left Michael to what he was doing.

Michael noticed that the ship wasn't in too good of a shape, but it wasn't in the worst conditions either. He would have to consult Jacob about it since he was a seasoned seafarer, where Michael was working off movies and video games. After he finished checking on the condition of the crew and ship, Michael went into the captain's cabin, and wasn't surprised to see that it was the cleanest part of the ship. Michael walked over to the desk in the middle of the cabin. He saw a map on it, and on it the various trade routes of the Caribbean. Michael took out a piece of parchment paper, and a quill from the desk, and began creating a scale version of the map equal to the one he ripped before he was imprisoned. It took him an hour, but when it was done he was able to briefly remember some of the spots that had X's on them. Michael wondered why these spots were marked, but could only think of one reason that Templar's would have a map like this. After he had made the smaller map, he put the X's on the larger map. It was likely that these X's meant that there were Assassin Strongholds in those regions, and they were going to exterminate them. It would be best if Michael got there before the Templars did, and warn them if he could. He rolled up the smaller map, tied a piece of twine around it, and put it in the drawer. Once done, Michael went over to the Captain's dresser and looked through the clothing. He took a black jacket, and white shirt out of it, and put them on over the rags he was already wearing. He then pulled out a white pair of pants and some boots, and replaced his old clothes with them. After he finished he looked into the mirror and smiled. He at least looked better than he did, though he would need to shave soon, because his beard was getting a bit scruffy. Michael pulled his hair back into a pony-tail, and walked out of the cabin.

Michael went to the helm, "How long until we reach Havana?"

"I reckon a few more hours," Jacob answered as he looked at me, "We have a strong wind, and a light ship."

"We'd go faster with more sails," Michael said as he looked up, "Oh well, can't have everything."

"Don't say that, we're pirates, what we can't have, we take."

"Everything is permitted, eh?" Michael chuckled at his own joke.

"Exactly captain," Jacob answered, laughing with him, "Also, who is going to be your quartermaster?"

"I imagine you would, if you want."

"I would like that, Quartermaster of the _Liberty, _it has a nice ring to it."

"It does, so the crew has been talking about the name have they?"

"Yes, they have," Jacob looked back to the sea, and watched as the water parted around their ship.

"Well, I'll be in my cabin, get me when we reach Havana," Michael nodded to Jacob, and went back to his cabin, where he continued to study the various maps on the desk inside.

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><p><strong>I decided to give Michael his own ship because it would be better to not have Michael just tag along with Edward and Adewale. If you liked this, don't forget to follow and review.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah, this was a long chapter. I probably could have split it into two, but I couldn't find a good place to split it. I hope you guys like it, and I made a major mistake last chapter. I accidentally put Havana instead of Nassau, and I didn't realize it until I went to see how to play Nine men's Morris.**

Michael yawned as he rolled up another piece of parchment and bound it in twine. He had spent the last few hours drawing the various components that made up a six-shot pistol. Remembering each individual little part was hard, but he was sure that he had gotten at least 90% of it. There were three papers that he drew them on, one containing the barrel, the other was the grip, and the last held the bullet chambers. He didn't one any one blacksmith from being able to recreate a gun that was supposed to be created far in the future. There was also a fourth page that he had drawn. In it was a design for a mold that he would use to create the bullets needed for revolver and give him the edge over the current population.

Just as Michael finished tying the knot, someone knocked on the door. He knew it was Jacob and put all of the scrolls into a pouch. As he attached the pouch to his belt, he remembered the Clock of Eden and that the Templars had it. Michael needed to get it back if he ever wanted a chance to get back to his own timeline.

After remembering the clock, Michael stood up, walked to the door, and opened it. Michael needed to shield his eyes from the sudden shift in brightness from candlelight to evening light and when it cleared, he saw the Island of Nassau. Michael looked to his right to see Carver, "Good work," he told the helmsman, "tell the crew to get some rest in the pubs, and offer them the choice of staying as part of the crew or leaving to find new ventures."

"You are giving them that choice?" Jacob asked baffled by the statement, "Not many captains will do that."

"I believe that all men have the choice of freedom," Michael answered as he walked to the railing to watch as the men who were already on the docks celebrated being on shore again, "This ship was part of the treasured fleet right?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah, why?" Jacob asked as he rose a brow.

"Do you think there is anything in the cargo hold that we can sell to make some money?" Michael turned around and leaned back on the railing, "if there is, we might be able to get a few more fortifications on her."

"I'll get to work sorting out the cargo, you can go have some fun on good 'ole Nassau, captain," Jacob said as he patted Michael on the shoulder, "I'm sure there is something you can do that is interesting."

"Maybe I'll play my hand at a game of risk," Michael chuckled as he stood up, "Thanks Jacob. I'll be sure to mention you to the ladies, after all a helmsman has to be strong to combat the storms we've been through."

"I hope you have a knack at story tellin'," Jacob responded as Michael started walking down the ramp, waving him off.

As Michael followed his crew to the pub, he began wondering where Edward was. It was possible that he stopped somewhere to rest, or that his frigate was faster than Edward's brig. Michael didn't really care, but Edward would be the one who knew the people around here and without him, Michael was lost in this time period. As Michael got closer to the pub, he felt something near him. It was a subconscious sense that he learned to trust as an assassin and never let it go unnoticed. He had the feeling of being watched, and by someone who was trained as well. He decided to let this person continue watching him, and come out on their own terms if they ever did.

Michael walked up some stairs, and walked to a corner that was unoccupied. From there he monitored the entire scene and planned how he would go about his business in Havana. As much as Michael hated the fact, the only way to survive was to get some money, and since all of his was confiscated after he was arrested, the only Reales he had were the ones he found in the captain's cabin, which wasn't very much. There was about fifty of them, but if luck was on his side, he could turn them into a fair bit. Michael's eyes fell upon a table in which a man seemed to have won in a game that resembled Othello and Checkers combined.

Michael moved from his corner and watched as the two set up another game and began learning how to play the game through the two. When the man of lesser intelligence lost he cursed and walked away from the table. Michael guessed that he was out of Reales and knew that the winner had quite a sum, and some confidence at the game. Michael sat down in the chair and put all of his coins on the table. His opponent smiled and matched the bet, "Do you want to go first, or shall I?"

"I'll go first," Michael answered as he picked up one of the chips and placed it on the left middle dot of the middle square, white side up.

He watched his opponent put it on the exact opposite side that he had. Michael began to wonder if he was trying a mirror tactic, then dismissed it since it would be redundant in the game and placed his on the inner square bottom left corner. His opponent put the stone on the middle-center-left place, and blocked Michael's plan.

Michael knew he was thinking ahead, and decided to put his next stone on the outer-middle-right on the left side. The man looked up at Michael and tilted his head, "Your move," Michael said confidently.

He nodded and placed the stone in the middle-top corner-right spot. This caused Michael to smile internally. If the man had placed it on the opposite side, Michael wouldn't be able to trap half his pieces in the middle and to assure it, he placed his next stone on the middle-bottom corner-right. Michael watched as he placed a stone to prevent him from getting three in a row. Michael countered by trapping the stone in, and preventing it from moving once all the stones were placed.

The two continued to place their pieces in key locations until all were down, amazingly no mills formed in the placement stage of the game, and now came the movement. Michael's turn came first and because of how he placed his pieces he could freely move three of his pieces while his opponent couldn't move any without Michael moving first, "You've lost this game," Michael told him as he moved one of his pieces, opening up a move for his opponent.

Anyone watching could see that Michael's movement was to force his piece out of the way, allowing for Michael to make a mill. Once it was made it opened up another movement possibility for his opponent, but once again opened up for a mill for Michael. This went on until the man had six pieces left. Now either of them could move freely, but Michael had three mill opportunities while his opponent only had one. His opponent used his mill to take out a middle piece eliminating two mill possibilities, but opening another. Michael moved replaced the taken piece with an adjacent one, creating a mill. Michael took away the piece that had only one adjacent piece, leaving him only with five.

"Give up yet?" Michael asked as he flipped the piece between his fingers deftly. He had won, just like he always did when it game to games of strategy.

"I can win!" the man exclaimed quietly and through gritted teeth. He took an entire minute before he moved a piece to block one of Michael's mill opportunities.

Michael took a deep sigh as he moved one of his pieces out of a mill and waited for him to take his turn. His pieces were spread out, and there was no possibility that he could make a mill or stop Michael from making one. Once he made his move, Michael made another mill and took a fifth piece. Michael did the same thing to take the sixth, but now was when it got tricky. The man was able to move his pieces wherever he pleased and that could be trouble if Michael couldn't make another mill. Luckily, Michael had planned on it and had a mill line ready in any area if he moved a piece. Michael once again moved the same piece up and waited for him to take his turn. Just as Michael suspected he moved the one piece that wouldn't create a mill into the opening. Michael sighed as he finally moved one of the outer pieces to a center spot creating a mill opportunity if he could get a piece to the center spot of the middle square.

The man, trying to stave off defeat as long as possible, moved one of his other pieces into the spot and opened a mill opportunity for Michael. Michael took it, and smiled, "Thank you for your money," Michael said as he reached over for the Reales.

Just before Michael grabbed the money, his opponent stopped him, "Double or nothing," he told Michael as he cleared off the board again.

Michael smiled as he pulled his hand back, "Double or nothing."

Michael went on to beat the man three more times, and clear him out of money, "How..."

"I'm better than you," Michael answered as he started counting the Reales he now held in his money pouch. Michael suddenly felt like he was being watched again, and whoever was watching him was getting closer. Michael looked up from counting to see some kid taking the defeated man's place.

"I ain't ever seen someone beat him at that game so easily," the boy said, as he looked at Michael, "Care to play a match?"

Michael knew this was the person watching him, and tilted his head, "What's your name?"

"James Kidd, at your service," he answered as he began clearing the board once more.

"How old are you? Sixteen, seventeen?" Michael asked as he put the bag of coins down, "Your voice is too high. If I didn't have a good ear I wouldn't have noticed it."

"What are you talking about?" James asked as he stopped moving and looked up.

"Your voice, it is an octave higher than the age of the boy you are trying to play," Michael said quietly as he leaned forward, "it would convince anyone that didn't have any note training. Also, your facial features are more feminine than most, that's why you try to draw attention away from it by wearing that ridiculously large bandana around your forehead and keep your hair in such a messy condition. So, _lass, _why don't you tell me why you've been watching me?"

"Aren't you a perceptive one," James responded as she leaned back, "To be frank, you carry this certain... air around you. I can't tell why, but you caught my eye."

"I seem to do that a lot," Michael said as he shrugged, "just one question before we continue, does the word 'Templar' mean anything to you?"

"Templar? Can't say it rings any bells," she answered as she shifted her position so that she her arm was withing reaching distance of Michael.

"Don't say that, I see the hidden blade up your left sleeve," Michael said as he crossed his arms, "Nothing is True..."

"Everything is permitted," James finished as she smiled, "An assassin, eh? What are you doing in those fancy duds, rob a dandy before you get here?"

"Stole a ship, didn't like the rags I was wearing," Michael answered as he pulled out the map he drew earlier, "What are these locations?" he undid the knot on the scroll and rolled it out for Kidd to see.

After she looked at it for a while, she saw what it was, "It's the location of the bureau in the Caribbean. The main island is on this map. We have to go warn the mentor."

"Do you have a ship?" Michael asked as he uncrossed his arms.

"Yes, I do. I schooner. It isn't much but it'll get us where we need to go," Kidd answered standing up, "We have to leave immediately-"

Michael grabbed Kidd before she could finish her sentence, "We leave in the morning, when the tide is low and we can get out easier. I'm not getting shipwrecked because you had a panic attack."

"I'm not panicking prick," Kidd said, glaring at Michael.

"Doesn't change the fact that we can't leave until the tide is low, unless you want us to capsize? No, didn't thinks so," Michael took his Reales off the table, and started walking down the stairs, "Where is your Schooner?"

"She's harbored at the dock a few yards down from the frigate you came on," she answered as she followed Michael, "We leave at dawn."

"I'll see you then."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to tell my quartermaster what to do after I leave," Michael turned around and walked backwards for a few steps, then turned back around and continued towards the _Liberty._ It was going to be a long voyage, that much he was sure of. He wasn't even able to find a blacksmith to make the first part of the gun. He sighed as his ship came into view, and saw that Jacob was laying by the helm, and a few of the crew were cleaning the ship.

Jacob got up when Michael started approaching him, and said, "We got about three thousand Reales from the cargo that was valuable inside of the cargo hold, could of been four had the sugar not been drenched from the storm. Anyway I talked to the harbor master, and he said that he could reinforce the hull for six hundred and fifty Reales and seventy units of Iron. We have one hundred and fifty units, that gives us more than enough to add a few more cannons as well, which he said would cost about nine hundred Reales. More broadsides mean easier pirating."

"How long would that take?" Michael asked as he crossed his arms.

"A week, maybe two," Jacob answered as he thought about it, "Why?"

"I'm going on a ship to see some old friends, I estimate that it will take about two in a half weeks to get where we are going, as soon as the harbor master is done, I want you to go to this island," Michael pulled out the map, and chose the one that Kidd had been so worried about, "I should still be there by the time you get there."

"Why are you in such a rush?" Jacob asked as he looked at the sea, "We have our lives, don't you think it is time to relax?"

"No rest for the weary," Michael answered as he smiled, "this is an obligation and I don't want to drag my crew into it if they aren't ready for it."

"Ready for what?" Jacob asked as he made a skeptical face.

"A war between two factions that work in the shadows."

"You know, you don't have to lie to me. You aren't just sending us to the middle of nowhere are you?"

"No, I'm not," Michael yawned as he laid down, "I need to sleep, I might see you when I wake up."

Michael stretched as he went into his cabin, and plopped onto the bed in the corner of it. He wondered what was going to happen once they got to the island. Not long after he put it to the back of his mind, did he fall asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Michael stood at the stern of Kidd's Schooner, watching as the island where the current mentor of the Assassins was hiding. He didn't like that the Templars knew where the Assassin leaders were hiding and it kept him from thinking about the Clock of Eden. It was when he started thinking about how he had gotten into this mess that Michael realized that he hadn't been thinking about going back to his time at all. He shook his head and started to let his mind wander when he heard someone walking up behind him. Michael turned to see Kidd behind him and raised his brow, "I haven't seen you come on deck the entire voyage here," he commented as he looked back to the island a couple of knots in front of them.

"I don't spend too much time above deck," Kidd replied as she leaned on the railing of the ship, "she's beautiful, ain't she?"

"Natural areas are beautiful," Michael agreed as he closed his eyes, "but one day instead of towering trees to hide in, we'll have buildings taller than mountains."

"Oh, and are you some sort of fortune-teller," Kidd asked with sarcasm in voice, "or is it because you've seen the future with your own eyes?" She laughed to herself until she saw Michael's gaze into nothingness, "You really believe that don't you?"

"You'd have to see it," Michael said as he came out of his gaze, "maybe I'll draw you a picture, but right now we have to make sure the order is protected above all costs."

"Right, there isn't any proper docks, so we'll have to swim once we get close enough to shore," Kidd told Michael as she secured her belt and holster, "I hope your gun isn't loaded because once we get in the water, you'll have to re-powder it."

"I know perfectly well what happens to gunpowder when it gets wet," Michael said as he smiled, "I also found a way past it," Michael took out a small piece of cloth in the shape of a cylinder, "the cloth has gunpowder inside, and has been coated with a water resistant material that is quite common, but the material is also combustible, meaning that once I pull the trigger and the hammer hits it, it will explode."

"Were you a dandy back where you come from?" Kidd asked as she grabbed the firing packet.

Before Michael could answer her, she put the packet in her pocket and jumped into the water, indicating that her question was rhetorical. Michael shook his head as he dived in after her. It took Kidd's schooner about eleven days to get to the island, and that was with bad winds on the first half of the voyage. His frigate should have left four days ago, and with good wind he calculated that it should get to the island in about a day and a half. He imagined that getting all of the things he needed to do on the island done would take the rest of the day. His crew would arrive just in time and he couldn't help but smile as he got onto shore.

"Why are you so happy?" Kidd asked as she looked back at Michael, she had taken her bandana off and let her hair fall down. Michael had to admit that she was quite a pretty girl, but understood why she hid her gender.

"My frigate should be here by tomorrow if the winds remain good," Michael told Kidd as he let his hair fall down on his shoulders, "If all is well, we'll be prepared for the Templars if they decide to come," he made sure that his sword was ready to come out of its sheath and that his gun's flint hammer was working. He put his gun back in its holster and started walking inland with Kidd, the other assassins nodding at them as they walked towards the center of the island.

Kidd lead Michael to a native islander, most likely to be the mentor due to how Kidd's demeanor changed around him, "Mentor," they both said as they bowed their head.

"Mary," the Mentor said as he looked at Kidd, then to Michael, "I do not think that we have met before."

"I am Michael Arias," he responded as he looked up, "I was also the one that killed Duncan Walpole."

Kidd looked at Michael at the same time as the Mentor, "You killed him? I was under the impression the one called Edward Kenway was the one responsible for the traitor's death."

"If it wasn't for Edward I wouldn't have been able to," Michael answered as he nodded, "he happened to shipwreck the both of them on the same island that I had been on for a few weeks."

"Would you care to enlighten us on how you came to be on that island?" The Mentor asked as he tilted his head suspiciously. He motioned for Kidd and Michael to walk with him as he started walking deeper into the ruins.

"That isn't important right now," Kidd interrupted, "the Templars know that we are here, they could be here any day now."

Immediately, the mentor's thoughts shifted from Michael's story to his and Kidd's original purpose on the island, "Gather the brothers and sisters, we must prepare for this enemy. It seems Walpole's treachery has outlived him. Michael I know we can expect your help, and I sense that you may already have some ideas on how to defend our home?"

Michael nearly laughed when the Mentor asked him to help, he nodded and crossed his arms, "I have a few, some of them involve some traps," Michael continued with the Mentor as Kidd ran off to gather the fellow assassins around the island.

"Now Michael, finish telling me how you got onto that island," the mentor ordered as they reached an open room in the ruins.

"I know I can trust you to keep a secret," Michael said as he looked around, "I found a device, a piece of Eden, called the Clock."

"Where did you find it?" the Mentor asked as he looked at Michael, "Where is it now?"

"The where isn't important, its when..." Michael took a deep breath, "I found it over three centuries in the future, and as to where it is, the Templars have it."

"The future?" The mentor repeated as he looked up to see the first assassin's starting to fill in the area in front of them, "we will have to continue this discussion later, for now, we have more prevalent matters."

Michael nodded and faded into the crowd of assassins, but he was very visible due to his outfit. He didn't feel comfortable being the odd one out in the presence of other assassins, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Michael crossed his arms and waited for the Mentor to give a speech or some orders.

"Brothers and sisters, we lost brothers in Havana when we attempted to take the life of Duncan Walpole and capture the Sage. There we discovered that Walpole had already been killed, but his treachery did not end. He gave the location of our home to the Templars, and that would have spelled our defeat had it not been for Mary and Michael. They sailed her as soon as they could to warn us of this imminent threat. We must now prepare for the coming storm and hope that this warning is enough to keep our order alive!" The Mentor didn't receive any cheers, a simple silent confirmation that the rest of the assassins were ready for what would inevitably come, "Go now, and make your mental preparations while I come up with a battle strategy. Michael, Mary come."

Michael nodded as he walked out of the crowd and walked towards the Mentor with Mary, who also was in the group of assassins. The two followed the Mentor inside one of the buildings where a map of the island was on a table inside, "Alright, let's get started."

* * *

><p>Jacob Carver stood at the helm of the <em>Liberty, <em>watching as the winds beat into the sail of his ship. He would be at the island in a day, and that meant that the captain would be back soon. He was never one to take up leadership positions because he couldn't bare the responsibility. Michael on the other hand seemed to enjoy the idea of being responsible for others, like he was born for it. It was as he was lost in his thoughts that he noticed a familiar flag waving in the distance, "Jackson!" Jacob shouted as he turned the ship, "get me a spyglass!"

The African man came up to Jacob with the object asked for, and Jacob used it to spot the horizon better. About ten knots away were two Spanish frigates and a brig. They were heading on the same course that they were, but they weren't going at full sail, "Jackson, get the Spanish flag from the cargo hold and raise it on the main mast, then tell the men on deck to get those uniforms on."

"Why, sir?" Jackson asked as he took the spyglass back from Jacob and looked at the ships.

"Because, I have a feeling that those ships are heading in the same direction that we are," Jacob answered as he turned the wheel so that they would eventually meet up with the small fleet.


	9. Chapter 9

Mary stood behind a tree as the flags of four Spanish ships appeared on the horizon, and Michael watched carefully with the spyglass she had given him. She wondered why he was so confident that they would be able to drive back a fleet with no ships of their own. Sure, his frigate is supposed to arrive later today, but one ship didn't make much of a difference against four.

Michael handed her the spyglass and smiled, "I'm confident that we are going to win this battle," he told her as she looked through the lenses. Instead of looking at the ships, she looked at the invasion force.

There were three rowboats heading to shore, probably one from each excluding one, which was strange in her eyes. Mary looked at Michael and raised a brow skeptically, "How do you know that?" She put the spyglass back into her coat and made sure her flintlock was ready to fire.

"Because, we have an ace in the hole," Michael took out his pistol and waited for the Spanish to arrive on shore. He held his hand up, signalling for everyone to ready their blowpipes, "Make sure you pick the target most in front of you, we don't want to waste any ammo," he whispered just loud enough for everyone hiding in the bushes with him to hear.

The Spanish soldiers were being cautious as they walked up the beach, the only sound that wasn't from them was the sea. Mary guessed that they had expected some sort of defense to meet them when they landed. Michael seemed to know exactly what they were going to do, because they started walking towards the only way into the forest like he predicted they would. In the center was the leader of this invasion force, and around him were the expendables. When they got into the narrow corridor between the beach and forest, Michael put his hand down, and cawed like a bird. It was the signal for everyone to fire. In seconds, the invasion force was on the ground and the assassins hidden in the trees finished them off.

"Grab their guns and return to your hiding spots!" Michael shouted as he ran up to the tree, climbed up, and perched on one of the branches next to one of the fellow assassins.

Mary wondered what he was doing, but was stopped from running up to the tree when a cannon ball hit the tree they were on. The tree started falling to the ground. Michael wasn't fast enough and was thrown off onto the beach. His body went limp on the floor and Mary assumed the worst had happened to him. Before she was able to go out to grab his body, another volley of fire hit the beach. Killing most of the assassins that had been in the tree, or wounding them fatally. Mary took cover behind some rocks as did the rest of the assassins, and waited for the volleys to end.

Michael felt the ground rumble under him, when his mind started to clear he realized he was laying face first in the sand. He started to get himself up when an explosion went off next to him and threw him a few yards across the beach. It started to come back to him as he tried getting up again. The island had been attacked by the Spanish and they started bombarding the beach in the middle of the attack when the first invasion force failed. As Michael got to his feet, everything was going in slow motion for him, and he could see the second landing party coming at him.

He could faintly hear Mary's voice telling him to get to cover, but something blocked out the instinct to run. Michael guessed that it was his fighting side of the fight-or-flight instinct. He put the hood of his new assassin outfit over his head and took out his sword and pistol. The party stopped in front of him and took aim. Michael took aim back, not really comprehending what was about to happen and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew from the barrel of his flintlock and hit the captain square in the head.

As his body fell to the ground, Michael rushed into combat with his sword in a reverse-grip. The captain's death was enough to make the majority of the Spanish soldiers hesitate, giving Michael the time to get between them and stab the first one in the heart. He activated his hidden blade as he let go of his sword and slit the throat of the soldier on the opposite side of him. Before the rest could react he took the musket from the first soldier he killed, and spun it around in a wide arc hitting three of the soldiers to the ground, and making the rest in range of the strike to duck. He fired the musket and one of the ones left standing and watched as he fell to the ground.

Michael felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and went to clutch it, he then heard the cocking of a pistol and closed his eyes. When the gunshot went off he didn't black out like he had thought he would. There was no pain and Michael realized that he hadn't been shot, when he opened his eyes he saw Mary standing next to him with her pistol smoking and the body of the man that tried to execute him on the ground. Time finally went back to normal as the rest of the assassins finished the second party off and Mary pulled him back into the cover of the forest.

Mary heard an explosion on the water and looked up to see the Brig catching fire. One of the frigates had fired upon it, and it clearly confused the other two long enough for the frigate to catch the wind in its sails and move behind one of the others. This must have been what Michael was talking about when he said that there was an "ace in the hole." Mary watched as the ships tried to reposition themselves so that they could fire, only to receive another volley of cannon fire from the traitor frigate. This volley was chain-shot, making it so that the masts of both frigates fell, immobilizing them. The ships were turning though, and they eventually got into position to fire. She could see the men on the first frigate brace as they were fired upon by the closest one. Only about three round-shots hit them, but it was enough to put holes all the way through them.

In the next volley, both of the Spanish frigates went down, and another rowboat started heading to shore from the remaining one. Mary used her spyglass to see who was on it, and saw that an Englishman was at the front of it, rather than a Spaniard. She had seen the man before, but couldn't put her finger on it. When Michael started chuckling, she looked down and wondered what was so funny to him.

"This is the second time I've been shot in three weeks," Michael answered her unsaid question as he looked out to sea, "Don't worry, it is only a flesh wound. There are no major arteries or veins in the top part of the shoulder." His face grew sadder as he looked out at the remaining frigate.

It was then that Mary realized that the frigate that was sitting with three holes in it was Michael's ship, which meant that any crew that died when it was hit were part of his crew. Michael must not like it when people die that he should protect, that's why he made sure to create a plan that would minimize the deaths of the assassins. In exchange, the lives of some of his men were lost, "I'll go get you some medicine for the wound," Mary said as she stood up.

As she turned away, Michael took her hand and smiled weakly, "I'll be fine," he told her with a nod, "just get me a curved needle and some string," Mary nodded as she watched his smile fade, and his gaze return to the sea. Mary noticed that Michael's demeanor was completely different from when the battle had first started, nearly as if he was a different person.

He had been careless in the battle, nearly gotten himself killed, but under all of his actions there was one thing that remained; his confidence. Michael had always had his confidence when he was fighting, now that it was over he seemed lost. The deaths of the assassins seemed to fall on his shoulders in his mind. Mary wanted to tell him that because of him, the other assassins lived. She started walking towards the ruins, knowing that this attack wouldn't be the last. Michael would feel the pain of everyone's death until he stopped the attacks from happening. She knew that he would not stop hunting the Templar leaders until the Templars stopped their attacks, and that wouldn't happen until every last Templar was dead. The Mentor probably knew it too, and that meant that in order to help the order, she would have to help Michael.


	10. Chapter 10

Michael took a deep breath as he felt the swaying of the ship on the ocean, "How did people live like this?" he asked himself as he turned over, and fell off of the bed. He had hoped that sleeping on the ship would help acclimate himself to its disorientating motion, but all it did was make him want to throw up. When there was nothing on his mind, he was very susceptible to the waves, making him stay in his cabin for a majority of their voyages.

There was a knock on the door, and Michael immediately jumped up, "Come in," he said as he turned towards the windows in the back of the ship, "its unlocked."

The door opened, and to his surprise it was Mary, "When did you get on this ship?" He asked, trying to remember if she was even at the last port they had stopped at.

"I've been on this ship for a day now," Mary closed the door and took off the bandanna that kept her hair up, "How do you not know when someone is on your ship?"

Michael chuckled as he fell back to the floor, "I'm not made for sea voyages," he told her as he smiled, "It takes all my strength not to heave out the window when I'm in here, so I tend to stay in here. It's easier when I'm not looking at the sea." Michael stood back up, and looked at Mary just in time to see her hide a look of concern, "If its about the attack on the island, you don't have to worry about it. I've gotten over it..."

"Obviously not," Mary said as she sat on the table Michael used as his bed, "Do you wish to talk about it?" Mary's voice was barely masking the concern she felt for the man, and that was something she was usually really good at hiding.

"Mary, don't concern yourself with me," Michael said as he moved to the door, "My life in this world isn't important enough for anyone to worry about. I just have something to do before I can leave it."

"And what is that?" Mary asked as her face suddenly became a glare. There were few people she would permit to say that their life was worth nothing, and most of them were Templars she was planning on killing, "You think you are on som-"

"Mary, I'll tell you why one day, but first it requires me to get back the Clock," he interrupted, smiling as the door opened and he went outside.

"And what is this Clock, you mention whenever you say that you'll explain something to me?" Mary grabbed Michael and shut the door before anyone saw inside, "If this Clock is so important, why don't you let other Assassins search for it with you?" She pinned him against the wall and held her face just away from his, gritting her teeth in anger.

"Because, the Clock isn't supposed to be held by anyone yet," Michael told her as he looked at her eyes, "When you aren't pretending to be a man, your eyes are beautiful," he told her with a smile.

Mary's eyes widened in shock as she let Michael go, only to send her fist at his face. Michael countered by grabbing her wrist, turning her around, and pinning her arm behind her, "Don't threaten me," he told her with a cold voice, his hand pressed against her back threatening to put his hidden blade through her spine, "I don't like killing people I've prevented from dying." Michael let go of Mary and walked out the door, closing behind him.

Mary rested her head against the wall as she wrapped her arms around herself, "Is he even human?" She asked herself, remembering the feeling of imminent death that only Michael had been able to give her. She took a deep breath before putting her hair back up into the bandanna, and walked out of the cabin, "Cap'n," she shouted as she spotted Michael again, standing on the bow of his ship, "Where are you taking this ship?"

"Japan," Michael said as he turned around, "There are some things I wish to collect from the fleeing refugees trying to escape the isolation of Japan, they should assist us in our fight against the Templar order, and my search for the Clock."

"Japan?" Mary asked as she turned to Michael with an astonished look, "But the Dutch are the only ones capable of even coming close to the Japanese Islands."

"Yes, but the restrictions they put on their ships is going to help us get close," Michael said as he smiled wickedly, "The Japanese ships currently made, limit their sea-worthiness, letting us get close to the Japanese coast. After we get on, what we have to worry about is the samurai, but they should be simple to take out with the improvements I've made to the guns we use." Michael gave one of his pistols to Mary, "feel the inside of the barrel," he told her with a smile.

"It's grooved," she said as she looked at him, wondering why it was modified the way it was. She handed the pistol back to Michael, "Why, you make it impossible to put the ball in."

Michael smiled again as he pressed a button next to the activator, and the barrel of the gun flipped down, revealing a hinge on the underside of the gun, "I've redesigned the entire thing," he told her as he pulled a round from his bullet pouch, "The bullets have also been modified, instead of having external gun-powder that you put into the gun. When the activator hits this white dot on the back of the round, it ignites the gunpowder inside of the cartridge, propelling the bullet through the barrel, now grooved to make the bullet spin. With a spin, the bullet move through the air more efficiently, going farther, and faster."

"I see, so, who produced these weapons?" Mary asked, as Michael loaded his pistol and put it back in its holster.

"I did, it was a simple modification to weapons already created, I just needed them to have completely metal barrels, instead of a combination of wood and metal. The only thing I had to have made with the gun was the hinge mechanism."

"So, you have advanced tactics, and weapon designs. What next? You going to tell us where the pieces of Eden are now?" Mary asked as she crossed her arms, "with you, we could end this entire conflict."

"No, if we attempt to destroy them entirely, they'll just come back at a later date and under more discrete operations. It would make them harder to hunt, and harder to contain. As Assassins, we must not destroy the Templars, only subdue their operations."

"Why?" Mary asked as she glared at Michael.

"Because, It is easier to hunt something that thinks you are weaker than it," Michael told her as he smiled, "Now, let's go find us some Japanese."


End file.
